The two involved in the internal energy competition were astonished for the same reason.
In the Western Regions, there were not many advanced internal energy training manuals. The Daoless Divine Power of Golden Roc Castle and the several internal energy manuals of the Four Noble Truths Temple were only admired and recommended by their own respective disciples. If they talked about it in front of the disciples of the famous sects in the Central Plains, they would only receive a sneer of disdain. To them from the Central Plains, internal energy was far less attractive than external martial arts skills like the Death Sutra.
Shangguan Fei had never been to the Central Plains. In the castle, everyone told him that the internal energy training method passed down within their family was invincible. And he believed it. Later, when he was making remarkable progress in his practice of the Three-in-One Power, he attributed it to the effect of the Daoless Divine Power and became even more confident about it. In a word, internal energy was the only areas he was proud of.
As a result, he didn't expect that the internal energy of a small, thin, and unknown Taoist priest from the Jade Pure Sect of the Central Plains could be so profound and powerful that the first wave of internal Qi had poured into him with the force of a landslide and the power of a tidal wave, almost invading and crushing his Dantian.
The Taoist priest was even more surprised. From his point of view, the external martial arts skills of the Western Regions were somehow unique and worth learning from. As for their internal energy training methods, they were just following the Central Plains and were not worth mentioning. He had recognized that Shangguan Fei was the young man who had come to cure his Qi deviation last time so his internal energy couldn't be very powerful.
But it was this nervous young man, who had not only blocked a series of all-out offensives, but had also been able to fight back whenever there was a chance. And even more extraordinary was that he had two different kinds of internal Qi, one yin and one yang, which was completely against the principle that a practitioner could only cultivate one type of internal energy.
The Taoist priest had heard that the Dragon King was practicing the so-called 'Three-in-One Power' but he had no idea how it worked. It was not until he experienced it himself that he was bewilderedly amazed and quietly muttered 'impossible' in his heart.
From the eyes of the outsiders, an internal energy competition was a very boring scene. Shangguan Fei occasionally moved a bit but the Taoist priest stood still like a sculpture. One could only see the four palms touching each other calmly, and be completely unaware of the fight's fierceness.
Shangguan Fei's fatal drawback was his timidity. Once he found himself unable to defeat the enemy in an overwhelming manner, the idea of retreat would occupy his mind. But unlike ordinary kung fu competition, one couldn't use the unique skill like lightness skill to run away during the internal energy competition. The only thing he could do was to try his best to protect himself.
Shangguan Fei felt like he was walking on the edge of a cliff and the only thing he wanted to say was 'I give up', but the thought of the Dragon King behind him made him so scared he dared not say it out loud.
The Dragon King was like a combination of a stern father and a ruthless Master; Shangguan Fei felt fear as he did respect towards him. He was really afraid that the Dragon King would abandon him and that he would not be able to live for another day, wandering alone in the crisis-ridden Jianghu.
'A bit longer, just hold on a bit longer, and then admit defeat. Let the Dragon King try himself, and then he will understand my difficulty.'
After setting a standard for giving up, Shangguan Fei became less nervous. Now he just wanted to take the defensive position in a calm and stable manner instead of trying to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
All of a sudden, he found himself able to practice the Dragon King's healing method.
The Taoist priest had kept his composure. Although the young man's internal energy was unexpectedly powerful, it was still inferior to the internal energy he had diligently trained for decades. The young man's internal energy was only vigorous at the very beginning, and had soon ceased to be as active, which obviously meant that he was fighting in an unsustainable manner.
The Taoist priest suddenly discovered something strange. Shangguan Fei had two strands of internal Qi which had originally worked together to barely defend themselves against the enemy, but now the yin energy had 'defected' and was guiding the Taoist priest's internal Qi to attack the yang energy.
Wouldn't that make him lose quicker? Puzzled, the Taoist priest could only think of one explanation: that Shangguan Fei's Qi deviation had broken out. But he soon found that he was wrong; his opponent, who had changed strategies, not only hadn't broken down, but had actually refined his yang energy instead of dispersing it. Though it was gradually weakening under the internal and external attacks, its overall resistance was increasing as it retreated along every inch of his meridians.
"Strange!" The Taoist priest couldn't help crying out. He felt that he might have been tricked so he immediately adjusted his internal Qi to attack the yin energy that was 'helping' him.
Shangguan Fei strictly adhered to the method the Dragon King had taught him and adapted to the opponent's change by changing his yin energy into a defensive position while using his yang energy to 'help' the external force.
This was the healing method Gu Shenwei had thought of. He had been inspired by the Balanced Power handed down in his own family.
Dual cultivation of yin and yang energy was, after all, dangerous, so the Balanced Power focused more on safety rather than speed. The family's inherited manual recorded lots of tricks and methods about suppressing a power increase, which had once puzzled Gu Shenwei a lot but was now a lifesaving trick.
With the Taoist priest's internal energy, Shangguan Fei was slowly refining the two different internal Qi, making them purer and easier to fuse.
It was hard for Shangguan Fei to understand the truth, but he instinctively knew that the Dragon King's method was effective. He could barely resist when he used the two strands of internal Qi, and now he felt it much easier to 'turn one of the Qi strands into a traitor.' The only price was that his internal Qi kept contracting in the meridians and if the enemy seized the moment to invade his Dantian, he would be maimed if not killed.
Shangguan Fei was worried and indecisive, and so was the Taoist priest. He had determined that his internal energy was being used by the enemy and therefore, wanted to take the chance to push forward to destroy Shangguan Fei's Dantian. But he also wanted to break free from this eerie internal energy competition while everything was still under control.
"Really strange," shouted the Taoist priest again with a louder voice. Just as he was thinking, his internal energy had become entangled with the enemy's internal energy and it became more and more difficult to attack. The 'defecting' Qi strand had revealed its true colors as a 'spy', which insidiously weakened its 'allies' while leading the way.
It was impossible to retreat now. No matter how he dealt with it, there would be a strand of internal Qi, either yin or yang, following his own Qi and entering his body whenever he withdrew his own internal Qi, which would greatly harm him.
"How strange!" The Taoist priest's cry became louder and louder with each successive shout, and instead of expressing his bewilderment at heart, he was actually subtly asking his fellow disciples for help.
Shangguan Fei didn't understand why the Taoist priest was screaming. The one who couldn't bear it any longer was obviously he himself, so why was the Taoist priest crying out before him?
"I … I…" Shangguan Fei felt that he had persisted long enough, but wasn't able to form the words 'give up.' It was not that he felt ashamed but rather because the method the Dragon King had taught him was too energy consuming and he couldn't take a breath to say the words.
Four Taoist priests walked out from different tents. Shangguan Fei had met one of them before so he only became more anxious and timid. To him, his victory or defeat was no longer important; at this point, he was only praying that the Dragon King could save him.
"What happened?" asked one of the Taoist priests who came out later.
"This kid … This kid … Just get me out of here." The small Taoist priest complained inwardly that his fellow disciples were really inconsiderate. The four of them actually had time to ask questions when he was so anxious.
The four of them finally realized the problem. A tall Taoist priest acted first. With no intentions of hurting anyone, he thrust out his palms and pressed onto the two, trying to peacefully separate them.
"Ehh, strange." The tall Taoist priest also cried out.
Not only was he unable to separate the two who were competing in internal energy but his palms also became stuck to the pair.
The friendly-looking Taoist priest came forward. It was him who had negotiated with the Dragon King on behalf of the Jade Pure Sect and proposed a ten days deadline. "Shangguan Fei, what are your motives for breaking into our camp at night? Where's the Dragon King? Did he come with you?"
If he could speak, Shangguan Fei really wanted to beg for mercy while swearing. It was becoming more and more difficult for him to influence those two strands of internal Qi coming from the Taoist priests. How could he have any 'motives'?
The friendly-looking Taoist priest was more cautious. Seeing his two fellow disciples becoming stuck, he naturally didn't want to act recklessly. He circled once around the three.
The tall Taoist priest was impatient and hot-tempered, and he actually called out what Shangguan Fei wanted to say, "Dao Sheng, quick, help us now, or I'm gonna swear!"
"No hurry, no hurry." Dao Sheng didn't get annoyed. "And we've agreed to not call each other by our Taoist name in the Norland."
"Fxx… Come and help! The kid's internal energy is really strange. It's a complete mess. How can he cultivate two different types of internal Qi? And it's really strange that those two internal Qi strands are fighting each other… Ehh, why am I fighting with senior brother Dao Huo's internal Qi?" The tall Taoist priest's nervousness had called out everyone's true identity in a single moment.
Unconsciously, Shangguan Fei was becoming more and more skillful with the Dragon King's method. He could not only guide the external force to refine one of his internal Qi but also incited the Taoist priests' internal Qi to suppress one another.
The fourth Taoist priest who had a long beard came over and proposed the easiest solution, "Hold on, junior brothers. Let me get rid of this kid and you'll be free."
Although the tall Taoist priest had just gotten entangled in the fight, he was the most impatient and immediately nodded to agree. "Do it now."
The Taoist priest with a beard produced a dagger from his sleeve. With just a simple throw, he could end the tangle.
Shocked, Shangguan Fei almost lost control of his internal Qi. 'Dragon King, Dragon King,' he muttered the name over and over in his heart, placing all his hope onto the Dragon King.
However, the one who saved Shangguan Fei's life was not the Dragon King but Dao Sheng. "Wait a moment."
"Wait a fart!" The tall Taoist priest finally couldn't help it and cursed, but immediately blushed and lowered his head to reproach himself.
Dao Sheng didn't mind. He pointed to Shangguan Fei while speaking to his fellow disciples, "This kid is a genius. It's a waste to kill him. Although our sect is rich in internal energy manuals, none of the manuals have a method for cultivating two different types of internal Qi. If we can take him back …"
The Taoist priest with a long beard came to his senses. "Right, do not kill him."
The tall Taoist priest's suppressed anger rose again. "Let's talk about that later, pull him away now."
The fifth Taoist priest looked calm like a scholar and was the youngest as well yet seemed to hold the highest position. "I'll block his acupoints, and junior brothers may retreat in time."
"Good idea, senior brother." The tall and the small Taoist priests praised him at the same time.
Even Shangguan Fei was relieved. He had wanted to end this competition long ago but was suffering from the lack of a way out. He could afford to be struck in the acupoints. At least he wouldn't have to die.
But just at the moment, the Dragon King jumped out to make trouble. He didn't show up when Shangguan Fei was urging repeatedly in his heart but he had appeared when everything was about to end.
Gu Shenwei didn't want to let this competition of internal energy end too early. Although Shangguan Fei had proved that the method of 'borrowing internal energy to refine his own' was feasible, he had to try it out himself.
Gu Shenwei struck out at the gentle Taoist priest with one hand and simultaneously attacked the small Taoist priest with another hand. Meanwhile, he kicked at the Taoist priest with a long beard.
The four of them were instantly entangled in a fight. And before the Taoist priests could react, their palms had touched the Dragon King's body.
Gu Shenwei had practiced the Balanced Power before, so he was much more skillful than Shangguan Fei. In the blink of an eye, he was firmly controlling the three strands of internal Qi of the Taoist priests.
"Strange!" The Taoist priests shouted in unison.
Then they helplessly watched a figure flash into the camp and head straight for where they had hidden the people.
There were many people in the camp but only the five of them were kung fu experts. All the others were supply servants who had honestly kept their heads down to avoid the trouble ever since they had heard the noise outside.
"We've been fooled." The tall Taoist priest cried out again but none of them could get away.
A moment later, the female officer Red Bat reappeared with something in her hand. Full of surprise, she said, "The instructor is not here."
But Gu Shenwei could see clearly that the thing Red Bat was carrying was Old Man Mu who had curled up into a ball.